![]() “We saved 287 customers’ orders, and everyone got their custom furniture.The Alford Homes homebuilder blog has been ranked “Top 40 Best Custom Home” blogs in the United States by Feedspot for 2 years in a row. “If this wouldn’t have happened, it would have closed and people would have been out of money and product,” Keoppel said. The Oklahoma City showroom is closing today and will be followed by some private invitation-only sales while liquidation plans are finalized. “There were hundreds of people who they had collected money from and not sent to.” “Every time we turned over another rock there was another snake,” Keoppel said. With the urban farm look losing popularity, the new operators attempted to expand the variety of furnishings and décor. ![]() The Dallas operation was quickly closed and the Oklahoma City shop and showroom were consolidated into smaller space. It was a high trend when they opened.”Įfforts to open a third location were halted. That type of furniture isn’t as popular as what it was before. “We took it to ground floor, closed Dallas. “There were a lot of people unhappy, and we came in and made it whole,” Keoppel said. ![]() Keoppel said they found inventory was only 1/15th what was reported by the couple and the company had 287 customers with backed-up orders. Keoppel said he discovered the couple had mismanaged the operation and grew too fast. “We thought it was a great brand.”Īttorneys for Jason and Cherami Thomas did not return calls to The Oklahoman. “I had been there before, everyone knew the brand, it had been there awhile,” Keoppel said. Keoppel and his partner took on the challenge with an understanding their risk ultimately would be limited. They had foreclosed on the previous owner and they were trying to minimize their exposure as much as possible to give it a second chance.” The bank had called us and said they had an opportunity and asked if we would help them how to save this deal. “We were brought in as an investment group to try to save the business,” Keoppel said. ![]() That was when investor and developer Shyon Keoppel and SK Ventures was asked to take over. The bank ousted Jason and Cherami Thomas, who faced an array of lawsuits over loans and claims of unpaid debts. By March, Johnson was out as CEO and the bank was under an FDIC consent order over misspending and loan policies. Farmers Bank, led at the time by third generation CEO Aaron Johnson, financed the operation. They grew into two more adjoining warehouses and then opened a showroom in Dallas. After three years, the couple moved their shop and showroom to a warehouse located along Western Avenue at Interstate 40. Starting with old boxcar wood flooring given by a friend, the couple expanded their operation and soon came up with an offering of furnishings and décor with a mix of farmhouse and industrial designs. According to their online history, the couple merged their passions to start building custom dining tables from reclaimed materials in their garage. Jason Thomas had a background in building, and Cherami Thomas was a designer. Urban Farmhouse Designs was started by Jason and Cherami Thomas in 2013. New owners brought in by the bank earlier this year to take over the operation and try to revive its fortunes say they are about to start a closing sale, ending a retail experiment that once drew shoppers from Dallas and beyond. Urban Farmhouse Designs, a sprawling operation that included reclamation of vintage wood and materials to make furniture then showcased for sale, is closing this week following an unsuccessful effort to revive the operation tied to bad loans at Farmers Bank. Urban Farmhouse Designs has grown by creating popular furniture pieces from reclaimed wood
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